Prompt

Parents of a young adult with first-episode psychosis ask why different doctors use different labels (schizophrenia vs 'psychosis' vs ICD codes), whether the diagnosis is 'real', and whether research terms they googled (RDoC, HiTOP) mean the hospital is using the wrong system.

Station brief

Format. Communication station, approximately 7–10 minutes active time after reading. You are the psychiatry registrar in an early intervention service. ^[5]

Candidate instructions. Meet the parents. Explain what a psychiatric diagnosis is for, why DSM and ICD both exist, what “working diagnosis” means, how reliability and usefulness differ from a simple blood-test disease model, why online research frameworks (RDoC/HiTOP) do not mean clinical care is wrong, and how the label connects to treatment, risk support, and review. Use plain language. Avoid false certainty and false hopelessness. Invite questions. ^[1]^[2]^[4]

References6Show

[1]Kendell R, Jablensky A Distinguishing between the validity and utility of psychiatric diagnoses Am J Psychiatry, 2003.PMID 12505793
[2]Reed GM, First MB, Kogan CS, et al. Innovations and changes in the ICD-11 classification of mental, behavioural and neurodevelopmental disorders World Psychiatry, 2019.PMID 30600616
[3]First MB, Gaebel W, Maj M, et al. An organization- and category-level comparison of diagnostic requirements for mental disorders in ICD-11 and DSM-5 World Psychiatry, 2021.PMID 33432742
[4]Clark LA, Cuthbert B, Lewis-Fernández R, et al. Three Approaches to Understanding and Classifying Mental Disorder: ICD-11, DSM-5, and the National Institute of Mental Health's Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) Psychol Sci Public Interest, 2017.PMID 29211974
[5]Macneil CA, Hasty MK, Conus P, et al. Is diagnosis enough to guide interventions in mental health? Using case formulation in clinical practice BMC Med, 2012.PMID 23016556
[6]Gaebel W, Kerst A, Stricker J Classification and Diagnosis of Schizophrenia or Other Primary Psychotic Disorders: Changes from ICD-10 to ICD-11 and Implementation in Clinical Practice Psychiatr Danub, 2020.PMID 33370728

Station brief

Format. Communication station, approximately 7–10 minutes active time after reading. You are the psychiatry registrar in an early intervention service. ^[5]

References6Show

[1]Kendell R, Jablensky A Distinguishing between the validity and utility of psychiatric diagnoses Am J Psychiatry, 2003.PMID 12505793
[2]Reed GM, First MB, Kogan CS, et al. Innovations and changes in the ICD-11 classification of mental, behavioural and neurodevelopmental disorders World Psychiatry, 2019.PMID 30600616
[3]First MB, Gaebel W, Maj M, et al. An organization- and category-level comparison of diagnostic requirements for mental disorders in ICD-11 and DSM-5 World Psychiatry, 2021.PMID 33432742
[4]Clark LA, Cuthbert B, Lewis-Fernández R, et al. Three Approaches to Understanding and Classifying Mental Disorder: ICD-11, DSM-5, and the National Institute of Mental Health's Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) Psychol Sci Public Interest, 2017.PMID 29211974
[5]Macneil CA, Hasty MK, Conus P, et al. Is diagnosis enough to guide interventions in mental health? Using case formulation in clinical practice BMC Med, 2012.PMID 23016556
[6]Gaebel W, Kerst A, Stricker J Classification and Diagnosis of Schizophrenia or Other Primary Psychotic Disorders: Changes from ICD-10 to ICD-11 and Implementation in Clinical Practice Psychiatr Danub, 2020.PMID 33370728

Explain diagnosis systems to a sceptical family — CASC communication station

Station brief

Explain diagnosis systems to a sceptical family — CASC communication station

Station brief